Mary Bueling displays some of the souvenirs
she brought back from the Ukraine, including the hand-painted
Matryoska Dolls which stack into each other and are a trademark
of the area.

For some people, an ideal vacation is to cruise
on a luxury liner or a week sunbathing on an exotic island. For
Mary Bueling, a perfect vacation is one that has a connection
to her family roots.

The Wahpeton educator embarked on just such a trip
at the end of May. She participated in a "Journey to the
Homeland" tour of the Ukraine area of Russia, which was sponsored
by North Dakota State University May 17-31.

For Mary, who has been tracing her Russian-German
family ancestry for years, this was a dream come true. All four
of her grandparents had originated from the Ukraine, and since
this area has opened up to visitors after many years, she was
anxious to take the opportunity to learn more about her family's
origins.

Encouraged by her husband, Lynn, she signed up for
the trip last November. She went alone, since Lynn's heritage
is Scandinavian. But she soon found kindred spirits on the trip
who were also hoping to trace their families histories.

The tour started at St. Petersburg, Russia, where
the group saw original art that had been collected by Catherine
the Great. They saw the Museum of Russian Art, with works dating
back thousands of years.

From St. Petersburg they traveled to Odessa in the
Ukraine by Russia's Aeroflot. Each day the group would go out
to Ukrainian villages of interest to them. Mary visited Selz,
where her mother's parents, Frank and Catherina (Baumstark) Fergel
were from. She walked on the street where her great-uncle had
lived in 1940.

She learned that there were very few Germans in
the villages. In 1940 most of them had been transported out to
forced labor camps in Siberia, where many of them had died.

Church of the Assumption in Selz,
Ukraine (today Limanoske). Mary Lou Bueling's grandparents
Frank Fergel and Catherina Baumstark Fergel were married
in this church in 1908. Circa May 23, 1997. Photo by Michael
M. Miller, Fargo, ND.

Mary had many memorable experiences in Selz, including
seeing the remains of the church (Church of the Assumption) where
her grandparents had been married.

She remembered her grandparents talking about that
church. "I could almost feel their presence."

She also visited Krasna, where her father's parents,
Felix and Braxada (Volk) Leintz, had lived. The old German school
that her grandparents had attended was still standing next to
the new school built in the 1950s. She went to the chapel in the
new school and found a list of "Leintz" family names
from the 1940s. However, she was unable to make a direct connection
with her immediate family.

Mary, a learning disabilities instructor in Wahpeton,
took pen pal letters from the Wahpeton School to Krasna children.
Third graders through high school students had received letters
from the Ukrainian students, which were then interpreted here,
and Mary had the privilege of hand delivering the Wahpeton letters
to children in Krasna. The group also took much needed school
supplies from this area, which were very much appreciated.

Mary's grandparents had come to this country as
teens or young adults to escape the poverty and unrest they experienced
in Russia. Mary explained that the Germans had originally settled
in the villages in the early 1800s at the invitation of Catherine
the Great. They prospered for a time in their own settlements,
unaffected at first by the rest of Russia. But by the turn of
the century they had lost their right to govern and were requested
to serve in wars. Their farms were taken away from them; they
were forced into collectivism, and many started migrating either
by choice or by force.

Mary has "dabbled" in genealogy for years.
She became interested when assigned to do a paper in high school
on the topic "Who We Were." So she began asking her
grandfather for information to research that paper. She is very
grateful because she was able to learn the name of the village
her grandfather lived in and when he came to the United States.
"That was the spark that got me going," she said.

The Bratan children of Krasna were
very excited about receiving pen pal letters from children
in North Dakota and the United States. Pictured from
left to right: Viktor Krestinov, Nickolai Bratan (2),
Mrs. Natalya Bratan, Alexander Bratan, Elena Bratan,
Demitri Bratan, Eugeinia Bratan and Svetlana Bratan.
Circa May 29, 1997, Photo by Michael M. Miller, Fargo,
ND.

If it hadn't been for that experience, Mary fears
much of the information would have been lost forever. She said
her grandparents had come to North Dakota to start a new life,
and didn't dwell on what they had left behind. Mary's grandparents
settled in the Brisbane, Shields, and Raleigh area of North Dakota.

Mary Lou Leintz Bueling presents school
supplies to the principal at Krasnoe, Ukraine. She receives
fresh flowers. The school supplies were donated by the
children in Wahpeton, ND. Circa May 26, 1996.

"They knew they'd never see their parents again,
and they didn't talk about it a lot." Letters they sent to
their homeland were not returned; efforts to send information
or supplies failed, and soon all contact was lost.

Through her research, Mary was able to obtain one
precious picture of her maternal grandmother in Russia. There
are none of her dad's family. "They're lost forever."

But the trip helped her reestablish those important
family ties, and she would like to return again sometime to strengthen
the bond.

Mary Lou Leintz Bueling visits with
the school librarian at Krasnoe, Krasna. Standing with
American flag is the school principal. Mary Lou teaches
special education in the Wahpeton Public Schools, Wahpeton,
ND. Circa May 26, 1997.

The group also visited Stuttgart, Germany, where
they visited museums dedicated to preserving the history of what
happened to the Germans in Russia, expanding upon their knowledge
of that time. Mary said a documentary is also in the process of
being developed surrounding the "Journey to the Homeland"
project which is spearheaded by Michael Miller of NDSU.

For Mary, it was an educational, emotional and enriching
experience. "I felt like I had come full circle," she
said, "connecting the past to the present."

Reprinted with permission from the Daily News,
Wahpeton, North Dakota, Thursday, July 16, 1997, Page A-6

Permission
to use any images from the GRHC website may be requested
by contacting Michael
M. Miller